The group, Save Southern Heritage, filed suit against the city claiming the removal will “eradicate freedom of expression."

Now, the city is filing a dismissal of the federal lawsuit.

The question of whether to move the monument or not began years ago but truly came to a head at the beginning of 2018 when public outrage sparked the decision to move the historic statue.

After some back and forth of who would pay to have the statue moved, the City of Lakeland decided public funding would ultimately be the route to go with when the statue would be relocated to Veteran’s Park.